Inu deplores statements of UN, US embassy

Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu yesterday rejected statements issued by the US embassy in Dhaka and the United Nations, Bangladesh, over the safety of student protesters during road safety campaign, terming those “unexpected and unwanted”.

Talking to journalists at his secretariat office in the capital, the minister also urged the US embassy to withdraw its statement over the attack on the student protesters, said a press release from the ministry.

“The statement is an ill attempt to poke nose into politics of Bangladesh,” he said.

The minister said there were sporadic clashes in two to three other places, including Dhanmondi, in the capital. Police tried to bring the situation under control and no attacks were made on the students, he claimed.

According to the US embassy statement, the student protesters were repressed through brutal attacks on them, the minister said. But in reality, no such incident happened, he claimed.

Rather, the government always tried to ensure the students' safety, accepting their demands. In this situation, it is a matter of regret that the US embassy issued such a statement, the minister added.

Inu also deplored the statement of UN Resident Coordinator Mia Seppo, saying that the statement did not “reflect the real situation".

He hoped that the UN mission would refrain from issuing such statement in future.

A written statement of the government over the matter will be sent to the US embassy and the UN office in Dhaka, he added.

Saying that the attacks on journalists during students' campaign were regrettable, the minister said the attackers would be identified and brought to book.

He also wrote to the home minister yesterday, requesting the ministry to take measures to this end, the information ministry press release added.